NEW YORK – The Mets scored two runs off reliever Yovanny Cruz in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Nationals, 5-4, on Saturday at Citi Field.
Down 4-3 with runners on first and second and no outs, Francisco Alvarez doubled down the left-field line, scoring Brett Baty. Two batters later, Francisco Lindor singled over the head of right fielder Dylan Crews, scoring pinch-runner Cristian Pache.
The Mets have won eight of their last 11 games.
It looked like Mets left-hander Sean Manaea was on the verge of recording his fifth consecutive quality start on Saturday. But he had a tough time getting outs in the sixth inning.
Manaea was cruising during the first five innings, retiring 15 of the first 17 batters he faced. The only blemish was a solo homer by Andrés Chaparro in the fourth to make it a 2-1 game in favor of the Mets.
But then Manaea had problems getting outs in the sixth. First, he started the inning by hitting Andrew Pinckney with a pitch. Two batters later, Chaparro reached base on a walk to put runners on first and second. Brady House followed and hit a 1-1 pitch that doinked off the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer and gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead.
Carson Benge made it a one-run game by hitting a solo homer off left-hander Tom Cosgrove in the bottom of the inning. Benge also contributed a key outfield assist, cutting down Pinckney at the plate with a 98.1 mph throw in the seventh.
Jefry Yan earned his first MLB win in style by recording five key outs in relief, showing off his signature strikeout celebration.